Who's on Zometa for bone mets?

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laurissa
laurissa Member Posts: 773
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I'll be starting Zometa in 2 weeks. Once a month infusion for a year. Oncologist told me to take tums for 3 days after each one. Any side effects that I need to be aware of? Just when I thought I was all done!

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  • greyhoundluvr
    greyhoundluvr Member Posts: 402
    #2
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    Laurissa -
    I have been getting it monthly for the last 5 months but not for bone mets. I haven't had any stomach side effects at all. I do get a little achy like a very low level flu and sometimes a little tired (like take a nap in the afternoon tired - not like the chemo "just can't go" tired) but it is usually gone in 24 hours and really hasn't been a problem at all. And, it really does take only about 15 minutes to get it. Sorry you're not done yet but I can tell you my oncs are pretty high on the benefits of this drug. After my dose this Friday, I will be going to 4 times a year for the next 2 1/2 years.....
  • bjmom1
    bjmom1 Member Posts: 152
    #3
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    Zometo advice
    I take zometa once month for a year. Make sure you drink plenty of water to help flush the drug out of your system. I found this out the hard way I had fever chill and bone pain. So when I drink lots of water I have no symptom at all. I hope this help.

    Good Luck
  • meena1
    meena1 Member Posts: 1,003
    #4
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    bjmom1 said:

    Zometo advice
    I take zometa once month for a year. Make sure you drink plenty of water to help flush the drug out of your system. I found this out the hard way I had fever chill and bone pain. So when I drink lots of water I have no symptom at all. I hope this help.

    Good Luck

    I have been on Zometa for
    I have been on Zometa for almost 2 yrs, You do need to drink a lot of water to flush it out of your kidneys. You also need to be careful with dental care. I got it once a month also. I do have some joint pain, my legs feel stiff the next couple days. I take it for bone mets, which have remained stable. But i have had no serious problems. take care
  • Marsha Mulvey
    Marsha Mulvey Member Posts: 597 Member
    #5
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    meena1 said:

    I have been on Zometa for
    I have been on Zometa for almost 2 yrs, You do need to drink a lot of water to flush it out of your kidneys. You also need to be careful with dental care. I got it once a month also. I do have some joint pain, my legs feel stiff the next couple days. I take it for bone mets, which have remained stable. But i have had no serious problems. take care

    zometa
    I have been taking Zometa once each month since February. For the first 10 weeks I also got Taxol and Herceptin at the same time. For the past seven weeks, it's been just H and the normal schedule of Z. The first week was the worst with aches, pains, and some fever for about 2 days. I had no nausea or vomiting. The aches got better each day and the fever went away after about 36 hours.

    Each of the next 4 treatments were better. Sometimes my ribs are a little sore. I wonder though which drug is causing the different side effects.

    The good news is that the cancer in my bones is being "held in check". That being said, it's worth the annoying side effects.

    Good luck with your treatments! MM
  • m_azingrace
    m_azingrace Member Posts: 399
    #6
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    Marsha Mulvey said:

    zometa
    I have been taking Zometa once each month since February. For the first 10 weeks I also got Taxol and Herceptin at the same time. For the past seven weeks, it's been just H and the normal schedule of Z. The first week was the worst with aches, pains, and some fever for about 2 days. I had no nausea or vomiting. The aches got better each day and the fever went away after about 36 hours.

    Each of the next 4 treatments were better. Sometimes my ribs are a little sore. I wonder though which drug is causing the different side effects.

    The good news is that the cancer in my bones is being "held in check". That being said, it's worth the annoying side effects.

    Good luck with your treatments! MM

    Zometa
    I've been getting a monthly Zometa treatment since last September. The first one was awful, but I believe it was because I was not informed about the importance of drinking lots of water before and after. Since then, no real problems, although I notice stiffness after I sit for a while. Mostly I'm doing just fine with it. I hope you do too Laurissa. Hugs, Gracie.
  • carkris
    carkris Member Posts: 4,553 Member
    #7
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    m_azingrace said:

    Zometa
    I've been getting a monthly Zometa treatment since last September. The first one was awful, but I believe it was because I was not informed about the importance of drinking lots of water before and after. Since then, no real problems, although I notice stiffness after I sit for a while. Mostly I'm doing just fine with it. I hope you do too Laurissa. Hugs, Gracie.

    I will be getting zometa
    I will be getting zometa twice a year for prevention. wonder why some people get it more often ? you have to see your dentist, because if you need major work, you need to do it before starting. It can have a rare complication of jaw necrosis. I havent gotten it yet. so will see (the zometa).
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    #8
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    zometa: kidneys and osteonecrosis of jaw
    I have been on zometa since 4/09. They will check your BUN and creatinine (kidney fuction tests) each time before your infusion. My BUN is beginning to be a little elevated so I am trying to drink plenty of fluids. My nurses tell me that if the creatinine goes up, they will have to stop, but so far, so good. Zometa can cause kidney impairment and staying hydrated can help, but it could happen anyway. We all are very different and we will all react differently.

    Jaw necrosis is not common but it is advisable to see a dentist for a check up before starting the drug. Avoid invasive dental work (tooth pulling) but do get regular dental hygiene (very important) such as 6 month cleanings. Practice good oral hygiene. If you need extensive dental work, you may need to stop the zometa. Copy the link in your browser and then print out the info for your dentist: http://www.boneandcancerfoundation.org/pdfs/osteonecrosis.pdf


    The good news is that I have not noticed any side effects at all thus far.
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    #9
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    CypressCynthia said:

    zometa: kidneys and osteonecrosis of jaw
    I have been on zometa since 4/09. They will check your BUN and creatinine (kidney fuction tests) each time before your infusion. My BUN is beginning to be a little elevated so I am trying to drink plenty of fluids. My nurses tell me that if the creatinine goes up, they will have to stop, but so far, so good. Zometa can cause kidney impairment and staying hydrated can help, but it could happen anyway. We all are very different and we will all react differently.

    Jaw necrosis is not common but it is advisable to see a dentist for a check up before starting the drug. Avoid invasive dental work (tooth pulling) but do get regular dental hygiene (very important) such as 6 month cleanings. Practice good oral hygiene. If you need extensive dental work, you may need to stop the zometa. Copy the link in your browser and then print out the info for your dentist: http://www.boneandcancerfoundation.org/pdfs/osteonecrosis.pdf


    The good news is that I have not noticed any side effects at all thus far.

    P.S.
    The even better news is that I just got back my cancer markers and the Ca 27.29 is normal and the CEA is nearly normal--both way down from a year ago. Yea! I am on just arimidex and zometa (finished rads last year). Good luck!

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